Car coupler shield



March 20, 1962 A. SHAFER 3,0 5,973

CAR COUPLER SHIELD Filed Sept. 23, 1960 INVENTOR. ARNOLD L. 5HAFR BY 2; W

United States This invention relates to novel means which provides a shield for car couplers to protect them from molten metal and other material which can cause the couplers to become inoperative.

Automatic car couplers have been used for years on mine and industrial cars. Their use under the adverse conditions which prevail in steel mills and similar establishments has presented problems not found in normal railroad usage. One of the problems presented when an automatic coupler is used in a steel mill or similar establishment is that the molten metal or slag frequently splashes onto the interlocked couplers and welds or fuses them together. The couplers must then be pried or cut apart to effect uncoupling and separation of the cars. In many such instances the couplers are rendered inoperative and must be discarded. This situation has prevailed for years and has been one of the prime factors limiting the wider use of automatic couplers in steel mills.

The splash shield as disclosed herein permits automatic couplers to be employed under operating conditions hitherto considered not practicable. The splash shield offers the signal advantage of being able to be used in combination with any type of coupling device that has a recess in which the shield may be inserted for purposes of mounting. Thus, the shield may be used on presently employed couplers with few, if any, modifications.

It is therefore the primary object of this invention to provide a splash shield for use with automatic couplers that will protect the movable parts of the couplers from fouling from above.

It is a specific object of this invention to provide a splash shield for automatic couplers comprising a substantially fiat horizontally disposed shield portion having a supporting member integral therewith adapted for insertion into a recess in an automatic coupler.

It is a more specific object of this invention to provide a splash shield for use on mine and industrial cars equipped with automatic car couplers to shield the couplers from slag and molten metal, said shield comprising a shield portion having downwardly sloping surfaces on the top side thereof to guide the flow of fluids falling thereon, and a leg member adapted for mounting in a recess in an automatic coupler.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the splash shield,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the splash shield mounted on an automatic car coupler,

FIG. 3 is another perspective view showing the underside of the splash shield when mounted on a car coupler.

Referring to FIG. 1, the splash shield 2 has a shield portion 4, an integrally cast leg member 6 and a supporting member 8. The shield portion, in its preferred embodiment, has on its obverse side four surfaces, 10, 12, 14 and 16, all of which slope downwardly away from the central horizontal axis of the shield to furnish a direction of flow to any fluids coming from above. Leg member 6 is located at one edge of the shield and depends downwardly at approximately a right angle to the plane of the shield. Projecting inwardly from the bottom of the leg member substantially parallel to shield portion 4 is an upper ear 18 overlying a lower ear 20. These cars are adapted for insertion into the recesses of an automatic coupler guard arm or pulling jaw. The mode of inseratent tion of the ears in the guard arm is illustrated in FIG. 2.

Near the end of each ear is a vertically oriented aperture 22 adapted to receive therein a pin 24. After inserting ears 18 and 20 into the guard arm recess, pin 24 can be inserted into aperture 22 to firmly secure the shield in its operative shielding position. As can be most clearly seen in FIG. 2, the ends of ears 18 and 20 project outwardly from the guard arm recess to facilitate insertion of pin 24 into the aperture. Shield portion 4 has a sufficien-tly large surface area to cover the knuckles on two interlocked knuckle type couplers or the locks on two fixed jaw type couplers so as to effectively protect them from fouling from above.

Attached to the reverse side of the shield and projecting downwardly therefrom at the opposite side from leg member 6, is supporting member 8. It is the function of the supporting member to provide stability to the shield and preclude rotation of the shield about leg member 6 when the shield is in its shielding position on the coupler head. The supporting member is of a length sufficient to engage the top side of an associated coupler to maintain the shield in a substantially horizontal plane. The length of the supporting member is determined by the structural configuration of the associated coupler head. The position of the supporting member is most clearly shown in FIG. 3.

When the splash shield is mounted on an automatic car coupler, sloping surfaces 10 and 12 on the obverse side of the shield will direct part of the flow of molten ma terial to one side of the couplers, and surfaces 14 and 16 will direct the remainder of the flow to the other side of the coupler. The degree of slope of the four surfaces can best be seen in FIG. 1.

What has been disclosed is a splash shield for automatic couplers that provides protection from above to two interlocked couplers. The advantages of the device include its simplicity of design coupled with its ability to be employed with existing couplers without modification of the currently employed couplers.

The terms and expressions which have been employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation and there is no intention of excluding such equivalents of the invention described or of the portions thereof as fall within the purview of the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A splash shield for a car coupler comprising a leg member, a shield portion and a supporting member, said leg member depending from said shield portion at one side thereof, the lower end of said leg member being adapted for insertion in a recess in an associated car coupler, said supporting member being disposed in horizontal spaced relationship to said leg member and extending downwardly from said shield portion and terminating in an abutment surface adapted for engagement with the top of an associated coupler.

2. A splash shield for a car coupler comprising a shield portion with a leg member integral therewith, the top side of said shield portion having a multiplicity of surfaces sloping downwardly when said shield portion is disposed in its normal substantially horizontal operative position, said leg portion extending downwardly from said shield portion and adapted for insertion in a recess in an associated car coupler to maintain said shield portion in a protecting position.

3. A splash shield for a car coupler comprising a leg member and a shield portion integrally formed, means on said leg member adapting said shield for mounting on an associated coupler, said means comprising an upper ear and a lower ear in-vertical spaced relationship, each of said ears having near the ends thereof a vertically oriented aperture adapted to receive therein pin means for securing said shield to the associated coupler.

4. A splash shield for a car coupler comprising a leg member, a shield portion, and a supporting member, said leg member having a bifurcated lower shank adapted for insertion in an associated car coupler, said supporting member being disposed in horizontal spaced relationship to said leg member, said supporting member depending from said shield portion and having thereon an abutment surface complemental to the top side of an associated car coupler.

5. A splash shield for a car coupler comprising a leg member and a shield portion integrally formed, means on said leg member adapting said shield portion for mounting on an associated car coupler, said means comprising two cars in vertical spaced relation, said ears being similarly curved in a horizontal plane, each of said ears having a vertically oriented aperture adapted to receive therein pin means to enable said shield to be mounted on an associated car coupler.

6. In combination, a car coupler and a splash shield,

said shield comprising a leg member connected to a shield portion, said leg member extending downwardly from said shield portion, said coupler having a recess therein, said leg member adapted for insertion in said recess, said shield portion being disposed in a substantially horizontal plane to shield the top of said coupler when said leg member is disposed in said recess.

7. In combination, a car coupler and a splash shield, said shield comprising a leg member and a shield portion, said leg member depending from said shield portion, the lower end of said leg member having means thereon adapted for insertion in said coupler to maintain said shield in a protecting position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,162,127 Shiller June 13, 1939 

